His greedy desire forced him to violate the law of not having private dealings with imperial consorts. He looked at Lin Wan eagerly and sincerely, saying: "Your Majesty, are you really going to help me?"

  "Director Xiao, having been in the official circle for a long time, must understand that although the phrase 'forming cliques and pursuing personal interests' is unpleasant to hear, it is indeed an effective means... Lin Yu sighed: "Your Excellency also knows that my father is not a high-ranking official or noble. With such a background, outwardly glorious but inwardly empty... Can you believe me, Your Excellency?"

  "Oh, haha, the princess's thoughts and mine are not much different... " Xiang Youxiang showed a pleased expression, then bowed down very sincerely and said: "Your humble servant asks for your enlightenment. If this matter is successful, I will definitely repay you in the future."

  Lin Wei let out a slight sigh of relief, but she was still not completely at ease. She knew that this old fox who had survived in the officialdom for twenty years was difficult to control. Xiao Youxiang agreed to cooperate with her on the surface, but Lin Wei knew he wouldn't hesitate to betray her once things were settled and it suited him to do so.

  But she wasn't worried. She had plenty of time to tame this man.

  "So I'll have to tell you the most precious news, Your Excellency......" Lin Yuen spoke in a low voice, but it was enough for the other party to hear clearly. "Your Excellency, the Emperor's intention is to sentence you to death on the charge of treason...... Do you understand, Your Excellency?"

  "Although King Mu of Zhou was arrogant and had his own private army, these were all permitted by the previous emperor. He did not commit any crimes."

  "So the Emperor is considering how to achieve this goal, and the Emperor does not want to go to war." Lin's tone became even more solemn: "Your Excellency, there is another important matter that you may not know. Every day, the Emperor summons the Left Prime Minister and others to discuss politics in the easternmost study of the Golden Tent. The records of these discussions are kept in that room. What I said just now was only a general outline. If you want to understand the entire plan... as the Right Prime Minister, you also have the right to enter that place. If you think of a way, it's not impossible to see the most critical things. It depends on Your Excellency what can be done for the Emperor using this information."

  "The eastern study..." Xiao Zhen's face showed surprise. He found that he had always underestimated the role of the imperial concubines, and it turned out that the emperor's bedside companion was indeed an existence that could hear everything, Lin Yuen served the emperor day and night, unknowingly grasping the most core secrets, even knowing where the records of policy discussions were kept.

  "Can't you understand anything?"

  "No." Xiao Zhen's eyes flashed with a greedy light: "Thank you, Your Majesty, I know what to do now."

  Lin Yan didn't say another word and turned around to leave.

  "Your Majesty, how did you know..."

  It seems you still don't trust her.

  "This queen is the emperor's confidante, of course she knows what the emperor thinks and does." Lin Yu didn't turn around: "Sir, it's still that sentence, whether to do something or not depends on you yourself."

  Lin Wan did not lie to the Right Chancellor, after all she sincerely hoped that the Right Chancellor could rise to power.

  Since Mu Wu Wang arrived at the arena, she has been staying in places where Mu Wu Wang and Tuoba Hong appear together as much as possible. She has been probing into the emperor's mind from the eyes of Tuoba Hong looking at Mu Wu Wang for two days, and also from the whispers of the imperial courtiers who have been eavesdropping on the emperor's side.

  In a place like this, where the strong prey on the weak, there is one advantage - chaos. In the midst of chaos, Lin Wan found it easier to do things that Tuoba Hong disliked without drawing attention to herself.

  Even in the capital city, she wouldn't dare to go and listen at the corner of Jianzhang Palace even if you gave her ten times more courage.

  At the outer edge of the valley, Gong Nü Chūxuě was anxiously waiting. She had done many things for Lin Yuān before, but this time she was more nervous than ever. Finally, she saw Lin Yuān come out and hastily said: "If we are discovered, privately meeting with an outsider and colluding with court officials are both punishable by death..."

  Lin Yan didn't answer.

  So far, all the dangers encountered have been fatal... If I can have my own power in the dynasty, I won't die so easily later on.

  Lin Wan said to Chu Xue, "You go back to your room first, I still need to attend to the Emperor." These past few days she had been clinging to Tuoba Hong, and in order not to arouse his suspicions, she could only cling to him even more tightly, explaining all her actions as a struggle for favor.

  The first snow nodded: "Today is colder than yesterday, I'll go get a windproof hat for you."

  Lin Wan went around from the valley mouth to a small path on the north side of the enclosure, and returned to find Tuoba Hong, because this was the way back to his own camp from the birch forest.

  When Lin Yu had walked halfway, she found that the road ahead was completely blocked. It was a huge boulder that had rolled down from the mountain slope, and it was unclear what had happened, but it had blocked the small path without leaving any gaps. The rocks were piled up high, and someone without martial arts skills would not be able to climb over them.

  In the imperial family's residence, encountering anything abnormal was an extremely dangerous signal. Lin Wan's palms slowly clenched, and then she turned around and ran.

  She should be grateful that she was wearing riding gear, but a person who is not good at sports running away really looks so clumsy. Before she could run out of this road, there was another loud noise in front of her eyes. She covered her eyes and squatted down, and when she looked up again, the return route was indeed blocked.

  As expected. Someone wants her life now.

  When in the capital, whenever such things happened, she suspected Xiang Fei, but Xiang Fei's hands couldn't possibly reach Beise. Then who was it? If someone discovered her private conversation with the Right Chancellor, they could report it to the Emperor and deal with her in a proper manner without resorting to such despicable and sinister methods.

  To the left of this road was the Gobi Desert, and to the right was a forest where wild beasts were raised. However, Lin Yin's location was very remote, and if she took a detour into the forest from here, it would still be several miles away from where the hunting party was truly located. Such a distance wouldn't be far on the road, but through the dense forest... Lin Yin had been familiar with Ye Lang in her previous life, and knew that even walking for a whole day in the dense forest where wild beasts roamed, one could only walk a few miles.

  However, there was no time to hesitate... At this moment, the rolling rocks only blocked her way, but the sound of landslides still rumbled in her ears. Lin Yuen gritted her teeth and drilled into the forest, because the survival rate of dense forests would be higher than that of deserts, and it was closer to the camp.

  The dense forest was dark and devoid of sunlight, Lin Yu could no longer resist the fear in her heart. This was the edge of the hunting grounds, the cedars and conifers blocked out all daylight, this kind of density wasn't suitable for imperial hunting, it seemed more like a primitive forest... Lin Yu had been walking for two hours, from dusk till night. Her right leg was still bleeding, that was caused by a wolf trap.

  Lin Yan's body and mind were exhausted, but her head was clearer than ever. She understood that since this marginal area was not suitable for hunting, it was impossible to raise wild beasts, so the appearance of traps was too unusual... Just now, after being clamped by the iron clip, she struggled free, which was still lucky, if she had taken one more step to the right, what awaited her would be a three-meter-deep pit with thorns at the bottom. This was probably just the beginning, she had long been lost, and didn't know what lay ahead... She looked up at the sky wanting to find the North Star, but could only see the dense tree canopy.

  Lin Yan's only regret was that she didn't learn horse riding well. If there was a horse, at least it would run faster, and horses are good at navigating in the woods.

  Under the shroud of night, Lin Yuen truly understood what it meant to stretch out her hand and not see her fingers. This place was so eerie that even a sliver of moonlight couldn't penetrate through. Lin Yuen didn't dare to linger, for the darkness seemed more treacherous than daylight; if she fell asleep, she might be devoured by wolves in her dreams. She walked until dawn broke, and only then did she stop beside a murky pond. She was exhausted.

  It's okay, this is indeed the forest within the arena, and water source is not lacking, it's different from that real death forest. She gasped heavily, she thought that the saying "wealth and honor are found in danger" was really too right, if she hadn't been greedy for fame and power, she wouldn't have been running around in the men's riding arena every day, and if she had just stayed in her own tent practicing calligraphy, she wouldn't have encountered today's trouble... Those who often walk by the river will eventually get their shoes wet, playing the game of vying for power and profit too much will eventually lead to loss.

  She bent down, wanting to scoop up a mouthful of water. However, the originally calm water surface suddenly splashed everywhere, Lin Yuen reacted extremely quickly, her body abruptly leaning back. In that instant when she was still in shock, she saw through the darkness a huge bloody mouth filled with over a hundred sharp teeth, she let out a shrill cry and retreated backward in escape.

  Lin Yan ran non-stop, knowing she would encounter more ferocious beasts. Crocodiles were not good at running on land and could easily escape, but next time a leopard that could run fast and climb trees would be the end of her. As she frantically ran without direction, a flash of knife light suddenly appeared in front of her, and she instinctively fell to the ground, despairingly waiting for the arrival of severe pain - it was an assassin this time... She had reached a dead end.

  However, the knife did not come down. Lin Wei, who was lying on the ground, heard another scream, and the fear and childishness in that voice were even more than her own. She opened her eyes and looked up to see a woman, or rather a little girl, who was much thinner than her, lying on the ground in the same posture, with a dagger of about one foot long stuck in the tree trunk and unable to be pulled out.

  Lin Yongsong took a deep breath, and it turned out that he was even weaker than himself. This kid must have been secretly harmed by someone to end up in this place... She patted her chest, stood up, and lifted him up with one hand.

  The girl's dagger was stuck, and she could only keep punching back. Lin Yu grabbed her hand, panting heavily: "I'm not the one who wants to kill you... stop, if you want to stay alive..."

  After the initial panic, she finally calmed down. She was a very young girl who tried to free her wrists while looking up at Lin Yu. Lin Yu was also sizing her up, but this method of seeing through people's hearts that had been honed in the palace was not suitable for the wilderness, as both their faces were covered with mud and water, making it impossible to discern their features.